Dyana Babik Realtor Houston Texas Communities

06/17/2023

Each spring, residents of this Czech town hoist a 'slain' metal dragon onto the city hall to commemorate a local medieval legend

01/27/2023

At a Jan. 25 Houston City Council meeting, council members passed an ordinance on sidewalks related to the completion of pedestrian paths in neighborhoods.



Let's break it down.

👍 Under these new changes, council members approved a requirement for a fee in lieu of sidewalk construction of $12 per square foot when a property owner submits an application to modify sidewalks.
💰 The money earned from the fee will establish a sidewalk fund.
🚧 The Planning & Development Department projects the sidewalk fund will rake in $1.7 million annually for sidewalk construction.
📉 The ordinance also lowers the application fee for sidewalks from $1,174.46 to $250 for single-family residential homes.

03/10/2022

Who Decides Ownership of Water Rights in Texas? March 09, 2022 | Texas REALTORS® Staff

On March 24, the Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case posing the question of who determines ownership of water rights in Texas: the courts or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality?

The case involves a 2014 purchase of farmland that transferred surface water rights to the buyers. Those rights originated from a 1986 lawsuit judgment. However, after the 2014 purchase, the TCEQ determined that an adjacent landowner owned a portion of those water rights.

Now that matter is before the supreme court. Read details about the case on the Texas Agriculture Law Blog.

09/07/2021

New Eminent Domain Laws
HB 2730 (effective January 1, 2022)
Expands the information a property owner must receive from an entity seeking to acquire property through eminent domain. The bill also allows property owners to file complaints with TREC when entities do not provide the requisite disclosures in the eminent domain process.

HB 4107
Requires that common carrier pipelines exercising the power of eminent domain provide notice to the property owners as well as indemnification, or redress, for damages caused when accessing the property for a preliminary survey. The bill also limits entry only to the portion of the property that is anticipated to be affected by the route of the proposed pipeline.

SB 721
Requires an entity exercising the power of eminent domain to provide disclosure of all appraisal reports used in connection with determining the entity’s opinion of value of the property if an appraisal report is to be used at the special commissioner’s hearing.

09/07/2021

How New State Laws Affect You Leasing and Property Management

HB 531 (effective January 1, 2022)
Requires landlords to give notice to prospective residential tenants at or before the ex*****on of the lease of whether they are aware that the rental dwelling is located in a 100-year floodplain or whether the rental dwelling has flooded at least once within the previous five years. If a landlord fails to provide the notices and the tenant suffers substantial damage to the tenant’s personal property as a result of flooding, the tenant may terminate the lease not later than the 30th day after the damage occurred. Texas REALTORS® will update pertinent forms by January 1, 2022, to add this required disclosure.

HB 900
Adds to the writ of possession section of the Property Code that a landlord is not liable to a tenant for any damages resulting from an officer executing a writ of possession in an eviction suit. This change applies to a writ of possession issued in an eviction suit filed on or after the effective date of this bill, which is September 1, 2021.

SB 1783
Allows landlords to choose to offera tenant an option to pay a nonrefundable recurring fee of equivalent amounts in lieu of a security deposit. The agreement to collect the fee must be in writing and signed by the landlord and tenant. The landlord must inform tenants that they have the option to terminate the agreemen ciding whether to approve an application for occupancy.

The bill allows the fee to be used to purchase insurance coverage for damages and unpaid rent for which the tenant is liable under the lease but prohibits a landlord from submitting such a claim to an insurer unless the landlord notifies the tenant of the damages not later than the 30th day after the tenant surrendered possession of the dwelling. If the tenant successfully challenges the claim for damages or unpaid rent, the landlord may not file an insurance claim for insurance purchased with the fee.

09/01/2021

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ANNOUNCE
New HOA Laws Go Into Effect Today

Several pieces of the REALTOR®-supported homeowners association reform laws passed by the Texas Legislature in 2021 take effect today, September 1. These changes bring more balance between the rights of property owners and their associations.

The 87th Texas Legislature passed these changes as Senate Bill 1588, which was authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes and Rep. Chris Turner.

Fees are capped for subdivision information ($375), resale certificates ($75), and updated resale certificates ($75).
TREC will create a publicly accessible central database of Texas HOAs by December 1, 2021. HOAs that have filed management certificates in county records before December 1 are required to file with TREC by June 1, 2022.
HOAs that have at least 60 lots or a contract with a management company are required to maintain websites with management certificates and meeting information and notifications.
HOAs are required to file dedicatory instruments with the county and provide certain contact information on all dedicatory instruments and management certificates.
Property owners have new protections from negative credit reporting when a fine or fee is in dispute, and HOAs are required to give a detailed report of charges and offer a payment plan before reporting delinquencies.
The legislation prevents some conflicts of interest within HOA architectural review boards.
HOAs are barred from requiring access to lease agreements and are only allowed to request tenant’s contact info and lease beginning and end dates.
HOAs are required to solicit bids for contracts for services over $50,000.
HOAs are barred from prohibiting certain pool safety enclosures, the installation of certain security measures on an owner’s private property, or certain religious displays.
HOA boards are required to provide members with timely notice about meetings.
The legislation provides improved due process in dispute resolution and additional legal avenues when seeking resolution from a dispute with an HOA.
Download a one-page version of these changes here.

REALTORS® Made the Difference
The passage of monumental HOA reform legislation wouldn’t have happened without you. The association launched a call for action via email to all Texas REALTORS® as the bill was moving through the legislative process, providing a convenient way for REALTORS® to urge their representatives to support SB 1588.

The call for action on HOA reform resulted in more than 12,500 supportive messages—a record-high response!

In addition, the website myhoastory.com was an incredible tool for collecting real-world stories from homeowners and REALTORS® about the challenges they’ve faced with HOAs.

08/30/2021

City of Houston and Harris County created their flooding problem by approved building permits and a land grab like Cottage Grove with no improvements for utility drainage and flooding, now most homes in that area have been placed into a flood zone, inadequate roads, etc. https://communityimpact.com/houston/spring-klein/environment/2021/08/25/flood-control-district-marks-hurricane-harveys-4th-anniversary-by-announcing-all-181-bond-projects-have-been-initiated/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_&fbclid=IwAR0ZhK20qilKg_5pglGLDAp9BcMoo2-WK3uOBuwkq7ih21r-GH3jiWX6_JA

Harris County Flood Control District officials announced Aug. 25 that all 181 projects included in the district's 2018 bond program had been initiated.

07/29/2021

07/27/2021

Hurricane Harvey recovery program

A dispute between the Texas General Land Office and community leaders in some of Houston’s historic neighborhoods of color is tying up progress on a program designed to rebuild houses damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

07/20/2021

https://communityimpact.com/houston/conroe-montgomery/development/2021/07/19/houston-areas-largest-age-restricted-community-coming-to-willis-local-barndominiums-on-the-rise-3-development-updates-to-know/?type=article&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter_article

Houston area's largest age-restricted community coming to Willis; local 'barndominiums' on the rise: 3 development updates to know

06/29/2021

https://realogymilitaryrewards.com/?fbclid=IwAR0x7JheSXZKKRXwsjzik5jq3B-rIfR3-jr1ZsBNwvON7yvFGw1IVy5Cg7A

06/09/2021

https://communityimpact.com/houston/the-woodlands/health-care/2021/06/08/vaccination-clinics-planned-by-the-woodlands-township-and-curative-this-summer/?type=article&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter_article

Weekly vaccination clinics are planned in The Woodlands from June 13-Aug. 29 at two sites.